Elijah

Elijah from Rachel South on Vimeo.

So I was looking for a clip on how Elijah heard God in a whisper...but I didn't find any...so I made one! Check it out!

Baptism Service

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach for my first time. It was a night baptism service. Take a look!

Baptism from Rachel South on Vimeo.

Follow the Light

Growing up I had a pretty great obsession with sea turtles. Starting in second grade I read every book that I could get my hands on from my elementary school's library. Soon there after my room was flooded with sea turtle figurines, posters, stuffed animals, mobiles, etc (hint - don't tell people that you collect something...unless you want millions...and that I did)

So sea turtles. My hidden (or not so hidden) obsession. I love them. I love how they glide through the water. I love their incredible colors. I love how there is so little known about these amazing creatures.

In the middle of the night, mother turtles crawl up on shore...to the very beach that they themselves were hatched, and lay their eggs. It is a very daunting task. Though sea turtles are swift in waters, they are slow and restricted on land. After about sixty days the eggs hatch, but the hatchlings are not yet home free. No, they have to, not only make it to the ocean and take their first swim, but they have to be one of the very few who survive into adult life.

Back to the night they hatch. So, they hatch. They fight their way out of the basketball size whole that they were in...and take off for the shore. To find their way they follow the moon. They follow the light.

How incredible. We are like those little hatchlings (bear with me a second). We come into the world (sometimes at the bottom of an enormous hole) and must "fight" our way to the top. Everything around us is pushing us down back into that hole. Everything around us is fighting against us, or along with us, and even after we make it out, even after we find our way to the beach, the journey is just beginning.

Like those little turtles we have to follow something,...or someone, in order to know which direction to go. We, like those little turtles, have to follow the light. Yes...there are distractions along the way...porch lights, flashlights, fog...but we ...like those little turtles, must follow the path that has been lit for us.

28 before 28

So I have been making a mental list of things that I want to do in the next five or so years (for this blog I am giving myself 5.5 years...28 looks better then 27.5 and 27 is not quite 5 years and I felt gipped)

Anyways...some friends (ehem...Nick and this guy - http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/12/my-40-before-40-list/) have been making these lists and so I thought I would copy the idea and do my own.

1. Learn to throw on the potter's wheel.

2. Have an apartment - make some of my own furniture...furnish it with antiques and quirky items.

3. Finish writing my curriculum series for Children's Ministry.

4. Play tennis on a consistent basis.

5. Continue to be a learner - read fiction and non-fiction, write, write, and continue writing, dialogue with others who stimulate new ideas and challenge me to grow and think about things in a new way.

6. Surround myself with friends to share life with, and be in a small group.

7. Lead a children's ministry. Equip families, tell Bible stories, invest in the lives of children, and love everyone that I meet.

8. Maintain a healthy diet.

9. Buy an Ipad.

10. Hike, bike, kayak, and camp...not just talking about it, but doing it.

11. Start on my Master's.

12. Make my parent's proud.

13. Get published.

14. Go on a missions trip.

15. Find a mentor.

16. Go skiing or snowboarding.

17. Lead someone (hopefully multiple people) to Christ.

18. Learn to play my guitar (not just chords, but actual songs and be good enough to play in front of others).

19. Consistently go to a coffee shop and talk to the people there.

20. Own a dog.

21. Read through the entire Bible.

22. Learn to sew from my mom.

23. Sponsor a child through World Vision.

24. Go to a ministry conference (ex. Orange or Simply Youth Ministry)

25. Own, and know how to operate, a nice camera.

26. Volunteer at a sea turtle hospital...for at least a day.

27. Own a collection of records...and a record player.

28. Walk in the footprints of Christ getting closer and closer to Him each and every day.